Former Sheriff Clay Parker hired as tribal police chief

Red Bluff >> The group that has claimed it is the "duly elected" Tribal Council of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians announced Tuesday that it had hired Red Bluff City Council member and former Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker as police chief of the tribe's newly established police department.

The group also said Chief Judge Leona Colegrove will head the newly established Paskenta Tribal Court, according to a news release.

Parker said it will be his job to enforce orders handed down from Paskenta Tribal Court.

"I'm not looking for a battle, I'm not looking for a fight," Parker said during an interview. "I'm looking for a peaceful solution."

The tribe, which owns and operates Rolling Hills Casino near Corning, has faced leadership questions stemming from its annual General Council meeting April 12. Armed security guards stationed at the casino serve as a reminder of the dispute.

Tribal Council Chairman Andrew Freeman previously announced that members of two tribal families were suspended at the meeting by a quorum of the General Council. He also alleged that some suspended members embezzled more than $1 million.

Richard Verri, an attorney who says he represents the tribe, said that some members of the five-member Tribal Council also vacated their seats by leaving the meeting, including Vice Chairman David Swearinger, treasurer Leslie Lohse and secretary Geraldine Freeman. He said new appointments were made.

Freeman also questioned the eligibility of the suspended members to be part of the tribe, saying they were free to challenge those suspicions.

At a General Council meeting May 10, Verri said, member-at-large Allen Swearinger also was replaced by appointment after he failed to attend, and the new Tribal Council, consisting of Chairman Andrew Freeman, Vice Chairwoman Leticia Miller, treasurer Ambrosia Rico, secretary Andrew Alejandre and member-at-large Natasha Magana, was confirmed.

Those members who sat alongside the chairman at the April 12 meeting, and who announced the hiring of Parker, say the allegations of embezzlement are false, and that no members have been suspended because the meeting was adjourned. They also say they are the "duly elected" Tribal Council members recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Indian Gaming Commission.

Those claims are countered by Verri, who said the new Tribal Council appointments were made according to the tribe's constitution, and that the tribe has regularly communicated its actions to the BIA and the NIGC.

Parker, a Red Bluff City Councilman, said he was sworn in Saturday, and that he's a neutral party who represents both sides of the tribal dispute, and all members of the tribe.

"My whole goal is to get the whole tribe back together," he said, adding that the April 12 General Council meeting was procedurally "botched."

Parker said he has tried to talk to Andrew Freeman, because he believes the leadership issue can be resolved. But attempts to reach the chairman, he said, have not been successful.

Parker said his position as police chief will not affect his job as a council member. He said as police chief he will have the power to issue such civil citations as disorderly conduct and trespassing into tribal court. He has yet to visit the casino since he was sworn in.

Verri called Parker's hiring by the Tribal Council members who allegedly vacated their seats a "joke," and that Parker would be served with a restraining order if he attempted to enter casino grounds.

"They have no legal authority to act on behalf of the tribe," Verri said. "Whether they appoint Santa Claus or a former sheriff, it has no legal effect whatsoever."

Verri said there is no "lawful" police department created by the Tribal Council.

"There is a security force that has been deputized and is performing security functions for the reservation with a contract with the tribal government," he added.

Verri also dismissed the authority of Paskenta Tribal Court, established earlier this month. He said the Tribal Council already has a tribal court headed by Chief Judge Howard Shanker, who he said issued restraining orders against those who have attempted to "illegally" assert themselves as part of the Tribal Council.